Projects

• Annual Gala

  

  The McGaw YMCA hosted an annual gala fundraising event to raise money and support. The popular event returned in 2024 after a multi-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The large-scale event was managed by the Development team and planning included a custom event brand and theme (Nurturing Our…
• Website – YMCA in Evanston

  

  Delivering a mobile-first, multilingual user experience to boost sales and share the story of a cherished community space. McGaw YMCA is the sole YMCA in Evanston, Illinois. It offers a wide range of health, wellness, and social programs for families and individuals of all ages within the greater…
• Website – YMCA Camp Echo

  

  Creating a truly mobile, multilingual UX experience for popular summer camp. Camp Echo is a YMCA overnight camp in Fremont, MI, that caters to a camper base of over 4,000 each summer. They provide camp experiences for people of all ages across the country and hire summer staff…
• Press Release

  

  Sample press release to highlight receipt of grants from Jewel-Osco Foundation.
• Membership Sales Campaign

  

  Merging the worlds of digital-first marketing and sales to get offerings in front of prospective members. Marketing and sales play distinct yet interconnected roles. At the YMCA, close collaboration between Marketing and the Membership team is required to ensure a seamless transition from awareness to conversion, with both…
• Annual Giving Campaign

  

  Fundraising efforts thrive on exposure to new experiences that help build brand awareness and support for the organization. The McGaw YMCA Annual Giving Campaign is an ongoing effort to raise money and support for the YMCA in Evanston, Illinois. The Development team manages several fundraising activities and events…
• Fundraising Events

  

  Day of Giving The McGaw YMCA Day of Giving was designed to provide prospective donors, members, and staff with an in-person, one day event to build brand awareness and inspire giving, separate from the worldwide Giving Tuesday event. The Development team planned the event as part of the…
• Design Samples

  

  Promotional Design For the YMCA, I created numerous designs for promotional giveaways and community outreach activities, including shoe charms for Crocs, labels for bubbles, car magnets, tablecloths, X-frame posters, a membership guide, and beyond. Flyer Design I led the design on a variety of YMCA flyers to promote…
• Centennial Campaign

  

  In 2024, McGaw YMCA celebrated the 100th year anniversary of its Camp Echo. Since its inception at its current home in 1924, Camp Echo is a beloved destination for generations of children and families and is one of the longest-standing YMCA overnight camps in the nation. To celebrate…
• Executive Communications: Year-End Remarks

  

  I composed the following remarks in partnership with the President and CEO to help convey the significant progress and achievements of the organization throughout the fiscal year. The remarks focused on the impactful milestones and experiences that reflected the YMCA’s commitment to enriching the Evanston community for more…
• Outdoor Advertising

  

  We used a variety of outdoor advertising techniques to promote brand awareness, membership, and program registration. Bus Stop Campaign Billboard Partnership with Local Bank Sample Registration Signage
• SharePoint Design – Departmental Site

  

  Showcasing departmental services, resources, and tools using a customized SharePoint site The Marketing & Communications team at McGaw YMCA provides organization-wide strategic marketing solutions and services aligned with the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) brand. I designed this Marketing & Communications Department SharePoint site to provide staff colleagues…
• How do you communicate a sense of belonging during a pandemic?

  

  Create a video. This video helped highlight the Y’s belief that communities thrive when opportunities are available to everyone and when individuals from diverse backgrounds collaborate on a shared vision for the future. My focus with the script and close ups of faces (with and without masks) was…
• Policy – HB 3653

  

  Expanding workers’ rights for all survivors of violent crime. The Illinois Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) was enacted in 2003 and gives survivors of domestic, sexual, and gender violence and their families protections against economic insecurity, especially loss of employment. Under current law, VESSA provides unpaid, job-protected leave…
• Website – Northwestern University

  

  Delivering a frustration-free UX experience for multiple audiences. The Office of Corporate Engagement at Northwestern University (NU) had an aging website and complicated user experience that made it difficult to attract new corporate partners, convert first-time users into regulars, and retain existing users. Corporate Engagement needed a website…
• Political Campaign

  

  Building a powerful community of support. While voters in most communities rank education as a top priority, turnout rates for school board elections remain low. One reason is that school board elections often occur on dates that are different from more well-known state and national elections. Candidates for…
• Engagement Events

  

  People need exposure to new experiences to build empathy and internalize change. Event management is as much about taking people through change as it is inviting them into experiences.
• Policy – Student Dress Code

  

  How one school’s dress code revisions sparked a national conversation around equity, body positivity and belonging. When students at Evanston Township High School (ETHS) demanded significant change to the school’s long-standing student dress code, school leaders had an opportunity to not only change the “what” about student dress…
• Empowerment – Parent Ambassadors Program

  

  Bringing people together involves as much active talking as it does active listening. The ETHS Parent Ambassadors program was created using the already successful Student Ambassadors model to help transform the mindset of parental involvement in the school setting. Parent Ambassadors are active, engaged, and informed parent (and…
• Branding

  

  Powerful branding + effective communications strategy = renewed sense of pride and love for a school. After decades of using the same mascot logo and school seal, Evanston Township High School District 202 no longer felt that the way they were viewed matched the dynamic nature of the school.…
• Visual Storytelling – Heritage Hall

  

  One school’s shared legacy. Evanston Township High School’s historic school building had a widespread appeal to visitors, including alumni, community residents, and prospective families, but it was missing a central location to celebrate its heritage, showcase its brand, and tell the school’s story. Faced with an aging school…
• Signage

  

  Simplifying a system of signs for a more inviting and visitor-friendly experience. Evanston Township High School has been a cultural destination in the heart of Evanston, Illinois since it was built in its current location in 1924. Despite many improvements to the school building over the years –…
• Social Media

  

  Powerful strategies that deliver human-centered messages with far-reaching, positive impact. The “All Are Welcome Here” social media campaign tells a story of how design thinking and communications strategy transformed one superintendent’s morning announcement into a nationwide message of affirmation and post-election healing in November 2016. After listening to…
• Website – School District

  

  Delivering top-tier brand presence and simplified user experience. As the only public high school in Evanston, Illinois, Evanston Township High School (ETHS) was experiencing dramatic growth, yet its aging website and the challenges of a constantly evolving digital landscape made it difficult for the high school to keep…
• Mobile App

  

  Connecting users to critical school information, news, and events through the use of a Mobile App available in 33 languages. With the increase in mobile device use among students, parents, and educators, this communication tech strategy provided a more equitable way for the school to communicate with its…
• Video Series

  

  What do you do when an organization needs to deliver the right message at the right time? Create video. Our team partnered with the superintendent and colleagues in IIT to write and produce the award-winning Superintendent’s Spotlight video series in-house. Our goal was to provide audiences with short…
• Website – Stay Gold Movement

  

  A website for survivors and advocates working to prevent gun violence.
• Policy – Support for Transgender & Gender Expansive Students

  

  Creating policy and procedure to ensure student gender identity is recognized, respected, and affirmed. In 2017, students and parents at Evanston Township High School (ETHS) District 202 demanded policy and procedural change to recognize and affirm transgender and gender expansive students. The District 202 Board of Education had…